MY ACCOUNT
– Real Madrid beat Liverpool 1-0 in last season’s Champions League Final
– Liverpool have won their last two games, Real are on a four-game winning run
– Recommended bet: Draw
Liverpool and Real Madrid renew their Champions League rivalry when they face off in an eagerly-anticipated last-16 first-leg meeting at Anfield on Tuesday.
In what is a repeat of last season’s final, which Real won 1-0 in Paris, the two European heavyweights go head-to-head again with both sides coming into the showdown in good form.
Liverpool have put a nightmare start to 2023 behind them with back-to-back 2-0 Premier League wins in the past week over Everton and Newcastle, while Real Madrid were crowned world champions earlier this month and have won their last two LaLiga games without conceding a goal.
It should be a keenly-contested first leg and there may not be too much to separate the two sides at the final whistle, nicely setting up next month’s return game at the Bernabeu.
Team news
Liverpool are sweating over the fitness of forward Darwin Nunez, who suffered a shoulder injury at Newcastle, and if he is ruled out then either fit-again Diogo Jota or Roberto Firmino will replace him.
Luis Diaz, Ibrahima Konate, Thiago Alcantara and Calvin Ramsay are all unavailable, while Arthur is back in training and close to a return but this match is set to come too soon.
Real striker Karim Benzema should return to the line-up after being rested for Saturday’s win over Osasuna but midfielders Aurelien Tchouameni and Toni Kroos are not in the visitors’ 23-man squad as they continue to recover from illness.
Eduardo Camavinga and Dani Ceballos are likely to get the nod to be selected alongside veteran Luka Modric, while left-back Ferland Mendy is still absent with a thigh injury.
The stats
Real Madrid and Liverpool have contested three European Cup/Champions League finals with Liverpool winning the first in 1981 in Paris 1-0, while Real triumphed 3-1 in Kiev’s 2018 showpiece and then 1-0 in Paris last year.
Real have visited Anfield for three previous Champions League games, winning one, drawing one and losing the other.
They were beaten 4-0 in a last-16 second-leg clash in 2009 before winning a 2014 group game 3-0.
Their most recent trip in April 2021 ended 0-0 in a quarter-final second-leg clash, but Real progressed having secured a 3-1 lead in the first leg at home.
Liverpool finished second in Group A, behind Napoli only on goal difference, with Jurgen Klopp’s side winning five of their six matches.
Real progressed to the last 16 comfortably, finishing top of Group F with four wins, one draw and one defeat.
Prediction
Liverpool have finally begun to look like their old selves in their last two matches after what has been a season to largely forget so far and a big home clash against reigning European champions Real should bring out the best in Klopp’s side.
It is tempting to suggest this could end up in a narrow home win, especially as the visitors are set to be without Tchouameni and Kroos but Real’s prowess in this competition should ensure they do enough to secure a draw in what could be an entertaining evening at Anfield.
